Most of the towns near here only allow total outbuilding sq feet NOT TO EXCEED the total sq feet of the home. So if a house is 24 x 36 and you already have a 12x20 shed, you can't build much. I MOVED
I would take the size of shop you think you want to build then add 5 ft to it. You will always have times where you will say I need just a little more room for this.
One of the plants that I worked in had 90 acres under roof. That would work for a long time, don't think I could fill it up.
I Built a 48x 62 shop for a friend of mine and I think that is just about right till everyone hears about it. We had a least 7 drag cars in there and there was still a good amount of room to work on them. Rob.
I was thinking about this this weekend. I will a four stall garage for the done cars, a two stall garage for doing upholstery in, and a 40x60 shop for doing the dirty work in. (Metal Fab, Paint, Bodywork..)
I think the best way is to build two buildings.......my storage building is 34x52........and the shop is 30x30 ....that way it is cheaper to heat / cool and light the shop. Insulate the storage building and don,t bother heating it.
I bought one of these about 5 yrs ago as well. Smallest ones in my complex are 30X40, biggest are 40 X 80. Mine is a 40 X 60, similar cost to above X2. I rent some space out in the winter and have plenty of room in the summer. I would HIGHLY recommend looking into these if there is a development in your area, and developing it if there is not.
Hot Rods??? Their definition, I liken to Rock & Roll. Elvis was a badass who played Rock & Roll. Ozzy Osbourne is a badass who plays Rock & Roll. One does not even remotely resemble the other, however some consider them both Rock & Roll. A purist might say Hot Rods are 1940 and earlier, and that muscle cars were born in 1955 with customs bridging the cap in between (49 through 51 Mercs). I say a wicked burnout is badass be it a Deuce Coupe, 67 Camaro, or 2010 Corvette... That being the case, it's all Rock & Roll brother, as long as it is badass!
Probably in reality, it comes down to what you can afford, and what you can maintain.....There is just so much neat "Stuff" out there in need of a good home. I am truly addicted to all kinds of HOT RODS..... with no cure~
A guy over here bought two 45 foot shipping containers, spaced them about 50 feet or so apart and built a roof over the top. I'm not sure what he has in the containers but they lock up pretty safely. He also planted trees around it so it would not be a eyesore. I'm betting it didn't cost much.
I went from a two car pole barn,120sqft storage, with 2acres, then moved to a 2-car garage, 1/2acre backyard, then to another place with a 3000sqft shop on 1 acre, then to a 1,200sqft shop with no outside storage. It's packed to the rafters. I just brought home more "stuff" that I could live without and I don't know where to put it. If you build it big, you will stuff it full. I like the idea of a separate storage building next to the shop. I am planning to purchase some property and I am considering two 40' shipping containers side by side with wall sections cut out for storage next to a 40x40 shop with a 20x40 carport attached. That ought to give me enough room to store all my goodies from the weather/peering eyes. Allows me to have room to work on projects and not trip over things all day. Allows me to park my daily(s) under the carport, and a few acres for "future project" storage.
I found a couple last winter for about 1900 each, but the daughter needed school money and I'm just now getting my money together to try again. I decided to space them just far enough apart (narrow lot) to get a row of cars covered between them. I thought about welding them together to make a 16 X 45 shop, but decided not to modify them at all after I get them so I can load them up and ship my stuff in them when I sell out and move closer to the kid.
here's mine, 45x60 with a four post lift inside and the small one 28x43 and heated... i'm happy with it but like others have said, you can't have too much shop space.. oh yeah, you could "hot rod" an '85, but i wouldn't call it a hotrod....
3100' is what I have and NOT TRYING TO BE GREEDY but it's to small, way to small....but I've got one and as far as the cut off point? ITS a matter of a opinion.......everybody's got one and for the most part they STINK.
My preacher gave a sermon once about "What's enough," and he told us that when asked, no matter what the subject (money, bigger house, etc.), the answer is always about 20-percent more than you've got now, no matter how much you have now. This, of course, reinforces my belief that all shops should be built with wing-nuts securing one wall! -Brad
2 things wrong here, 1. no matter how big it is, you should still have a pile of rusty junk outside as an offering to the hot rod gods, and 2. Where the hell does a hot rodder find time to cut his grass?!? Nice place
A general rule of thumb in planning a garage/shop is to allot 12' x 20' per vehicle, times two. One space for frame and engine, one space for body. Also plan for your tools, generally a clean side and a dirty side. Plan for a row of shelves to store parts, manuals. Finally, think vertically. Give yourself 9-10 feet head room. Lighting, water, compressed air, 220v power. I recommend skylights in lieu of windows - more wall space, better security, better lighting. Jack Logan, Architect
Mine is 36x24 with a 30x 16 lean-to on the rear and a 22x20 carport on the front and I'm bustin at the seams.Vaulted ceiling so plenty of headroom but I've got way too much crap in it.Got the Model A ,2 Harleys,and over in one corner the 32 body and frame rails.When you add a work table,small bathroom,and all the engine lifts,stands,welder,drill press,sand blast cabinet and all my other pack rat shit it gets real tight.
Two things have to happen to obtain that "perfect shop" 1. Have more money than you know what to do with. 2. Control the collecting/obtaining..or as my wife calls it "being a Pack Rat" My perfect shop would be a 50 x 50 x x 40 with a down draft/blasting booth/ engine clean room/ half way up a parts storage with freightr elevator/ Lower level a 15 x 20 game room/man cave. Outside the shop would have a sanding cover and wash rack. Of course climate controlled and stereo
I'm thinking something this size is getting closer... It would have unlimited compressed air and more outlets than you can count. (we're dreaming, right?)
They are never big enough. I put up a 32x48 pole building,heat,water, bathroom,12ft. ceiling w/ 4 post lift and seperate 300 amp service and the SOB is not big enough. My wife said we are now official rednecks because the garage is bigger than our house. I told her thats the way it should have been 41 yrs. ago when we were married.
To quote Gray Baskerville loosly, " All you need is a carport. If you have a garage you accumulate to much stuff." 25X25 here and I'm amazed how much room is in there when I have all the crap out. I'm equally amazed how much stuff is then in the driveway. IZZAT A GARAGE/ESTATE SALE SIGN?????????????????
I can tell you that whatever size you build in a year or two it will be too small. So build a shop as big as you can afford.
No matter how big it is... you will out grow it. get more than you think you need, but not more than you can afford and realize in a few years you'll be adding on to it.
The Jalopy Journal
